My Experience is Probably Not Yours
stargrace 
Headstart for ArcheAge began a few days ago, letting me finally make use of the $150 Archeum pack I purchased months ago. Sort of. As with any head start or game release these days, Trion was plagued with DDoS attempts, server queues, and unstable authentication problems. None of these were new to me, in fact we went through pretty much the exact same thing when WildStar launched a few months back. Ah, memories.
Despite all of the issues that plagued servers and players, I did manage to create two characters on the Naima server. I first created East, because that’s what I had played in my very limited alpha / beta experience. I reached level 15, purchased an 8×8 farm plot along with a 16×16 house plot, and all was well. I didn’t realize at the time just how difficult it would be to obtain land just a few hours later.
After playing for a few hours I also realized that a number of my friends were playing West, and so I decided to create a tank class (my first character being healer-esc). I absolutely fell in love with everything. The world, the quests, the character.. it is completely different than my experience playing East. The only downside is that this character is now 17 and I haven’t been able to find a spot of land anywhere. It’s not a huge deal because (for now at least) I have been able to plant things on my old character and ship them off to my alt. I’m thinking that 16×16 housing plot will actually become my larger farm plot, so I will have to do the secondary quest that rewards me with the larger scarecrow. Eventually.
I’m having a LOT of fun. A lot more than I thought I would. I have been trying to meet up with a guild and get involved in some of the more social aspects of the game, but so far that hasn’t been working out too well for me. I suppose it’s due to the time that I’m online, or the fact that pretty much everyone requires you to use TS or ventrillo, and honestly I’m just not THAT social. I’m hoping I find my own little niche to call home soon, and I can certainly see me sticking around ArcheAge for quite some time to come.
I know my experience probably doesn’t match that of the majority out there, at least not if you go by the attitude on social media. I’ve heard many people upset about the lack of land and the connection troubles they have been facing. I can’t say I blame them, but I do think that if I am patient, I’ll find my “dream home” eventually.
As always, happy gaming, no matter where you find yourself!